Closure-making machine.



G. F. JENKINS.

CLOSURE MAKING MACHINE. APPLICATION rum) n.4, mu

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b 8 LJ ll 5 name 1 a "mmum 6 \mmum Patented Feb. 13, 1912.

c. F. JBNKI NS. GLOSURE MAKINGMAGHINE. APPLICATION FILED HA3. 4, 1910.

Patented Feb. 13, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

arm/M Q/vmeoow G. I. JENKINS.

CLOSURE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICIATIOR FILED 11.1.3.4 1910.

Patented Feb. 13, 1912.

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0. F. JENKINS.

CLOSURE MAKING MAGHINE.

LPPLIUATIOH FILED HA3. 4. 1910.

Patented Feb. 13, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4 C. P. JENKINS.

CLOSURE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLIUATION FILED mum, 1910.

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awuentoz UNITED STATES T OFFICE.

CHARLES FRANCIS JENKINS, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR TO SINGLE SERVICE PACKAGE CORPORATION OF AMERICA, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A

CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

CLOSURE-MAKING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 13, 1912.

Application filed March 4, 1910. Serial No. 547,877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES FRANCIS J ENKINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Closure-Making Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being bad therein to the accompanying drawing.

For certain classes of receptacles it is desirable to have closures which are inserted, cork-like, with their projecting portion overlapping the wall of the receptacle mouth so far as to be laterally flush with the exterior of such wall so that a simple label may serve as a seal.

To provide an automatic machine for making such closures from thin sheet stock is the general object of this invention, and a further object is to form and deliver such closures rapidly and automatically with both ends so closed that there is no depression or recess in either end. VVit-b these objects in view, a ring in the form of a short tube is provided, a disk is pressed into cuplike form and pushed into such ring until its lower end projects beyond one end of the same while its margin lies below or within the plane of the opposite end, and finally to insert a disk to rest upon said margin and lie flush with the corresponding end of the tubular ring. When thus made, the closure appears as if made by placing upon a shallow cup a disk of equal diameter and pressing a relatively narrow tubular ring over both, to cover the joint. For antomatically making such closures, the tubular rings are fed into suitable recesses in a plate rotating step by step, disks are cutfrom a stock strip, formed into cups and pushed into the rings during a rest period of the plate, other disks are cut from a stock strip and ushed into the rin against the margin of the cup during a su sequent period of rest, and finally the completed closures are ejected before the plate completes a full revolution.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the main POItIOII'Of the machine. Fig.2 is an elevation looking from the ri ht in Fi '1. Fig. 3 is a view looking in tie same direction as in Fig. 1, the rotary plate being shown in diametrical vertical section and other parts being correspondingly cut. Fig. 4 is a plan view on a larger scale of a portion of the rotary plate, its support and some Fig. 5 is a horizontal section, at a short distance above the rotary plate, showing the latter, stock feeding devices and ejecting mechanism. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section on the line 66 Fig. 4, showing certain plate-locking devices. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary section through a part of the ejecting devices, the plane of section being the same as in Fig. 3. Fig. 8 is a vertical section, radial with respect to the rotary plate, through certain ring-supplying devices. Fig. 9 is a like radial section showing the cup-forming and inserting devices. Fig. 10 is a.,similar section showing diskforming and lnsertin means. Fig. 11 is a detail'view showing tle manner of ejecting the completed closures. Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing a completed closure with a small portion broken away. Fig. 13 shows a modified ejector-head, in perspective.

In these views A represents the frame of the machine and A a horizontal bed-plate carried thereby. Above the bed-plate is a. crosshead B sliding ways in the upper part of the frame and carrying at its ower end a tubular cutting plunger B within which works a differently moving forming or inserting plunger B both. head and plunger driven by a crankshaft B itself actuated from a power pulley B, by a. shaft B, pinion Bfland gear B engaged with the crank by means of a common friction clutch. The bed-plate is recessed to form a central circular boss A and, around it, a way in which fits an annular plate C provided with ear teeth C on its inner margin and wit a series of etfually spaced circular openings C The p ate is rotated step by step, to bring the openings in succession to precisely the same points, by means. of a mutilated gear 0 lying in a recess in said boss and at proper times engaging the inner margin of the plate. The ear is rotated by the crankshaft, ears 5, C, shaft G, bevel ears 0, C", an 57' vertical shaft C to w ich the mutilated inion is fixed. The crosshead has a rigid attachment B which carries 3.

adjacent parts.'

cutting and inserting plunger B", which, like the plunger B, always allne with one of the openings C when the plate C is at rest. The plate, when at rest, is locked in exact position b means of a vertically sliding rod D urge upwardly from below by a spring D into one or another of several apertures D in the plate into which its rounded end enters. The rod is forced downward at proper times by a cam D", on the lower end of the shaft C, acting against a roller on a pivoted arm D which passes through the rod, the releasing of the rod occurring an instant before each engagement of the mutilated ear. A stri E of stock for the closure-b ies or on s (Fig. 12) is intermittently fed beneat the plungers B, B by means of rollers F, F adjustable in distance apart by screws F and driven at the same perip eral s eed by means of a crank F of adjustab e eccentricit carried by the shaft B, a pitman F, arm F, pawl F, ratchet F, bevel gears F, F, and are F", F upon the roller shafts. A secon stock strip for forming closure 12, is also intermittently fed to s It 1g. b ow the p unger B, but as these tops on disks are smaller, the strip is fed by shorter etc to avoid waste. This is accom lished, al ough the rollers are rotated by t e same devices as the others, by making the lower roller F smaller than the lower roller of the other pair fixed to the same shaft, and arranging the u r roller F to rotate about but not wit the upper roller-shaft, and driving this loose roller from the lower shaft and at the same surface speed as its companion, by gears F", F. The strips, in entering the rollers, are accurately e(gui ed laterally. by blocks G adjustably fix u on a rigid bar G, and the rollers are rea 11y rotated in either direction, when the pawl is disengaged, by means of a hand wheel Gr upon the lower shaft.

The closure-bod stri being fed beneath the lungers B F an stop ed, a disk is cut rom it by the plunger B and a meeting die H, F1 9, and this disk is at once pressed throng a forming die H and into one of the apertures in the rotary plate C, which already contains in its enlarged upper art a tubular ring E of the same internal iameter as the non-enlarged portion of the opening. The rings are inserted in the openin automatically, bein brought into opposition singly by a be t conveyer I driven by a shaft 1', pulle I, belt I and pulley 1 upon the crank-s aft. As shown in Fig. 8, one of the conveyer drums 1 lies close to the margin of the rotary plate and as the rin advance singly upon the belt and as eac passes off the belt, it is gently advanced by the friction of its successor on the belt, into a guide I which allows it to advance only so far as to aline exactly with one of the openings in the plate when the latter is looked as before described. When in such position the ring lies directly below an inserting plunger 1' which is normally held above the plane of the rings by a spring I and is depressed at proper times by a spring arm I, Fig. 2, carried by the crosshead. It has upon its lower face a conical boss I which presses the ring, if distorted, into exactly circular form before it is met by the body of the plunger. The arm I is made elastic so that in case two rings should by any chance be en erposed beneath the p on er no harm resu ts.

A ter the cup-shaped closure-body has been mserted 'in the ring, the step by step rotation of the plate brm the whole to rest beneath the plunger which in descending coacts with a circular die 13" to cut from the strip 153 a disk which it, by its further descent, presses into the ring against the margin of the closure-cup or body and leaves it flush with the rm s upper margin. The further rotation of tie p ate brings the completed closure to rest directly over an e'ector-head J which normally lies below t e lane of the plate in an opening in the be -plate and is riodically actuated by the crosshead ig. 3) through theaction of a ri d bar J carried by the crosshead, a lever pivoted between its ends, and a link J pivotally connected both to one end of the lever and to the head J. The bar J, in descending, strikes one end of the lever and thus raises the opposite head-bearing end, and when the bar rises, a spring J restores the parts to initial position. The head, as appears from Figs. 7 and 11, consists of a normally horizontal plate J, rigidly fixed to a diametrical U-shaped member J between the parts of which the link is pivoted, and rovided with an inwardl curved skirting which limits the possib e rockin movement of the head. Each branch of t e member J extends outward throu h a slot in the skirtin and is itself provide with a slot J through which passes a rod J rigidly supported from the bed-plate. The form of these slots is such that they allow the head to rise vertically at first and compel it to swin outward u n its pivot during its further rise, as indicated in dotted lines in F i 11, whereby the completed closure is hot lifted from the opening in the plate and thrown outside its margin. In some cases this head is replaced y the ejector shown in Fig. 13, where the top of the U-shaped member J and the in-turned ends of fiat springs J secured to the branches of that member, respectively, form a closure-lifting surface. This form avoids the probability of clogging by bits of stock or the like falling into the aperture in which the head works,an accident which is ordinarily prevented by an inclined curved plate K fixed in position to receive the scrap from the plunger and die and carry it over the e'ecting devices.

The a paratus describe is especially intended or making closures of paper and is in practical use for that pur ose, butit ma be used with other materia where con.- ditlons are always much less difficult than, with liable and readily crushed paper. It eing obvious that the construction shown may be varied in many particulars without-passing the proper limits of my invention, I desire to claim my invention broadly as well as specifically.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with automatic means for feeding short tubular rings successively into a pre etermined position, of automatic means for ressing a cup-like closure-body into each, w ile in such position, until it lies below the plane of the rmgs upper margin, and automatic means for also ressin into the ring a ainst the margin 0 the c osure body a dis coveri the open end of said body and filling t e space between the planes of said margins, whereby a hollow closure having an annular external shoulder a is formed.

2. The combination with a rotary plate havi a series of openi or recesses, of the diameter of a closureody, each coun terbored to receive a short tubular ring, of means for rotating said plate step b step, means for inserting such rings in sai openings successively uring corresponding periods of rest, means for inserting a closurebody in the ring-containing openings respectively durin subsequent periods of rest, and means for a so inserting terminal disks in said rings respectively during later periods of rest.

3. The combination with a plate provided with a series of openings ada ted to receive cup like closure bodies an: counterbored to receive tubular rings having the same internal diameter as the openings, of means for rotating the plate step by step in its own plane, rin -1nsert1ng devices, closure-body msertin evices, and disk-inserting devices arrange at successive points along the path of said openings in position to aline with difierent'openings when the plate is at rest, and automatic means for actuating all the inserting devices.

4. The combination with a plate provided with suitable closure receiving openings and arranged to be rotated step by step to bring said openings successively to an ejecting point, of an egector mechanism arranged to ift closures rom said openings and then tilt to throw all in the same direction. I

5. In apparatus of the class described, the combination wit-h a plate having an opening adapted to receive a closure-body and enlar ed upon one face of the plate to receive a s ort tubular ring havin the same internal diameter as the non-en arged portion of the opening, of means for inserting such a ring in the enlarged portion, and means for forcin a closure- Ody in the same direction partia ly through said ring and into said non-enlarged portion.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES FRANCIS JENKINS.

Witnesses:

James L. CRAWFORD, R. CRAIG GREENE. 

